


cupid's halftime

by miaomaomei



Category: Inazuma Eleven, Inazuma Eleven: Ares no Tenbin
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 12:07:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29332071
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miaomaomei/pseuds/miaomaomei
Summary: Five times Fudou's (attempts at) flirting fly right over Kazemaru's head, and one time Kazemaru reciprocates.
Relationships: Fudou Akio/Kazemaru Ichirouta
Kudos: 12





	cupid's halftime

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written for Fukaze Week but it became too long. 
> 
> As per usual, there is no beta.

As the captain of Teikoku Academy's soccer team, Sakuma has to keep his eyes peeled at all times. Not only does he need to know the physical conditions of his teammates, but he needs to pay attention to their mental state as well. If anyone is having trouble with another member, or if anyone is having some difficulties with their play style, then Sakuma needs to be there to help them work through their issues.

That's his duty as the captain. To be fair, even if Genda or (God forbid) Fudou was the captain, Sakuma might have taken it upon himself to take care of the team. Back when Kidou was the captain and part of Teikoku, he praised Sakuma for his interpersonal skills, and Sakuma takes great pride in them.

So when he notices Fudou and Kazemaru's odd behaviour, he immediately sets out to try and fix it. But to fix a problem, he needs to understand it first.

He doubts that the problem stems from Kazemaru. Or, to be more precise, he doubts that Kazemaru is the one taking action against Fudou.

Sakuma does not always fully agree with Kazemaru's methods. He still distrusts Kageyama after what happened during the Football Frontier, and he cannot quite understand where Kazemaru's loyalties lie. He thought that Kazemaru would be just as against Kageyama as Sakuma and the rest of Teikoku are, not blindly listening to his instructions and strategies.

He knows that Fudou is also frustrated with Kazemaru's behaviour. He's annoyed that Kazemaru refuses to say anything about what he's thinking, and he's irritated at how he's constantly playing right into Kageyama's plans. Plans that Kazemaru has full knowledge of and agrees with. Fudou is undoubtedly the aggressor in whatever disagreement is going on between the two, but Sakuma can understand if someone holds the opinion that Kazemaru is the root of the problem.

Normally, Sakuma or Kazemaru is in charge of practice, but today, he left the menu up to Genda, making up the excuse that he needs to do a bit of paperwork before he can join. Genda's only response was to glance over in Fudou and Kazemaru's direction and nod.

It seems that Sakuma is not the only one who noticed.

He observes the practice from the bench, tapping at the empty clipboard in his hand, his face scrunched up in concentration.

Fudou kicks the ball towards Kazemaru and Kazemaru races along the field, dribbling the ball effortlessly. He avoids Henmi's attempt to steal it and shoots. The shot does not make it. Genda snatches it easily out of the air and tosses it to Sakiyama, who traps it easily.

Kazemaru does not show any frustration at his shoot being stopped. He raises a hand and calls out, "Nice block!"

"Thanks!" Genda shouts back, giving him a thumbs-up, which Kazemaru returns.

Fudou rolls his eyes. As Kazemaru jogs past him to return to his position, Fudou says out of nowhere, "Those ladylike legs of yours aren't so good on their own."

There.

Genda gives Sakuma a look and Sakuma nods back. He does not make a move to get up or stop them, though. Normally at this point Sakuma might have jumped up to break the two of them up (and give Fudou a piece of his mind about the way he talks to his teammates) but he needs to pinpoint just what exactly Fudou's problem is.

Kazemaru's brow furrows. "What?" he asks coldly.

"Ha, didn't you hear me? Maybe you should eat some better food than whatever crap you have in your room. I'll stir-fry some vegetables for you, you loser."

"What are you talking about?"

...What _is_ he talking about?

Fudou is rude and a weirdo, but he's not usually _this_ strange.

"Whatever," Fudou harrumphs, crossing his arms and looking away.

Kazemaru tilts his head at him. Instead of pursuing the issue, he turns and dashes off towards Sakiyama, who kicks the ball away to Gojou. In Kazemaru's mind, practice probably takes precedence over Fudou's strange behaviour. It's not like Fudou's ever been the most amicable person on the team.

No other incident in particular occurs during the rest of practice, and Sakuma sighs, stretching his arms high over his head. Other than more proof that Fudou is a rude oddball, he didn't learn much of anything. Maybe he needs to spend more days observing Fudou and Kazemaru, but it's not like he can just stop practicing altogether. Nor can he focus all of his energy on just two players. He's the captain of the entire Teikoku team.

Kazemaru is sitting on the bench next to him, splashing a bottle of water onto his face to cool down and then shaking his head like a dog. Instead of wiping himself off with the towel around his neck, he reaches down for a second bottle and drinks from it.

How Kazemaru can possess those looks and maintain them when he's this careless is beyond Sakuma. He sets the clipboard down next to him and starts to get up to help dry Kazemaru off when he sees Fudou stomp over to the bench from across the field.

"Dumbass," Fudou says softly.

"What?" Kazemaru says, looking up at Fudou crossly.

Fudou rolls his eyes and snatches the towel away from Kazemaru's neck. The material must have scratched against his skin with Fudou's rough movement because Kazemaru's brow furrows for a second.

The mental image of Fudou using the towel to slap Kazemaru's face makes its ugly way into Sakuma's head and he jumps to his feet.

"Fu —" he starts before Genda, suddenly at his side, places a hand on his shoulder.

"Wait," he says.

Sakuma stares up at him for a second before he turns his attention back to Fudou and Kazemaru. Fudou pats the towel against Kazemaru's face and hair, and Kazemaru closes his eyes under the attention. The first few times Fudou rubs the towel against his face, Kazemaru flinches back slightly, and Fudou clicks his tongue in frustration before he cups Kazemaru's cheek in his hand.

"Stop moving," he says coldly. "You'll catch a cold. Isn't it the responsibility of someone from the reinforcement committee to make sure our team is at its best? How are we supposed to play at full strength without one of our regulars?"

"Sorry," is all Kazemaru says in response.

With Kazemaru's eyes still closed, he can't see Fudou's expression, but Sakuma can recognize, as clear as day, the soft warmth in Fudou's eyes as he looks down at Kazemaru's face. He doubts Fudou realizes he's let down his guard so much in public, while the rest of the team is still around him.

Feeling like he's intruding on something he wasn't given permission to see, Sakuma looks away from them. The last thing he sees is Fudou running his fingers through Kazemaru's hair, tucking his long hair behind his ear.

**Author's Note:**

> My Twitter is [miaomaomei](http://twitter.com/miaomaomei) and my Tumblr is [surelynotshirley](http://surelynotshirley.tumblr.com)


End file.
